"What My Mother Sees in Hillary"

[Walk away]

".....Recently my mom and I were talking on the phone, and I asked her how she was feeling about the election.

“I always feel good about Hillary,” she replied.

For the first time in her life, my mom sees someone who can directly relate to her own experiences in a strong position to become president. Mrs. Clinton has led so many charges during her political career that have supported women, including fighting relentlessly for reproductive rights and speaking up for women and girls worldwide when she was secretary of state.

At a town hall a few months ago, a young man asked Mrs. Clinton why young people lacked enthusiasm for her.

She sounded a bit wounded, but she tried to explain what she’d been up against for so many years. Despite all the criticisms, she said, over the course of several decades in the public eye, all she could do was continue to stand her ground.

I think of my mom, and the obstacles she faced every day as a single mother. And yet she put one foot in front of the other, and got jobs and did her best to keep them. Eventually, she even put herself through college.

She survived the 1970s. She reveled in the days of Ms. Magazine and the women’s liberation movement. She met my dad, who adopted Jason and loved him like his own son. They continued to build a family together, and my dad supported her getting a graduate degree while they raised four kids.

Political decisions and opinions are personal and emotional — maybe more so than they are ever practical. Our identities are tied up in our choice of candidate in any given election cycle. This person represents me. It’s never been a question that Mrs. Clinton would be my chosen candidate. For me, it’s not just that she’s a woman who fights for women. It’s her giant heap of experience in governing — a heap so much higher than any other candidate’s."

More...

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/22/opinion/campaign-stops/what-my-mother-sees-in-hillary.html?_r=0

[BootinUp]

1. Great real life story. nt

[sheshe2]

2. I like!

Thank you Walk away, nicely done.

[Sparkly]

3. Ms. Magazine taught me: "The personal is political."

Thanks for sharing this!

[grossproffit]

4. Thank you so much for posting this. This is printer worthy.

I'm going to makes copies for my mom & aunties and pass them out when we meet for lunch next week.

[Hekate]

5. This young woman really gets it. I'm Hillary's age, too.

The 1970s were a time of tremendous transition for women. If you paid attention, there was a lot of discussion about the way women were shafted by the system as it was then, and how a woman could be left without resources if her husband left or died -- exactly as the author's mother had happen to her. Absolutely no credit rating, even if she and not he had been handling the family bookkeeping for 25 years.

When I got married at 24 I had been supporting myself for 5 years, albeit at a very low wage, but I had a savings account, a checking account, and a store credit card (I worked there) -- all in my own name. Although I took my husband's last name I kept these small accounts separate. We had joint accounts, as a married couple should do, but to this day I have my own as well because I am a person in my own right and not just an extension of my husband, no matter how I love him.

The laws changed, thanks to the Women's Liberation Movement. Hillary Clinton was smack in the middle of all those changes, and she helped to bring them about. She doesn't get near enough credit for her lifetime of work on behalf of the 3/4 of the population that are women and children.

[Freddie]

6. Young women just don't get this

I'm in my late 50's so many of the real battles were fought by the generation ahead of me. But I can remember my HS guidance counselor encouraging me to become a teacher because it's "a good job for a woman." And how I suddenly got lots of credit card offers after I got married (early 80's). My daughter, who has a great job and supports her family while taking grad courses, can't fathom how recently all this stuff was. She's a Bernie supporter but will vote for HRC in the end.
They don't realize how fragile our rights are and how quickly they can be snatched away.
My biggest hope for an HRC presidency is that we can finally get the ERA passed. Since the POTUS herself will not have equal rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

[Iamaartist]

7. Nice post,thank-you

[Hekate]

8. Kick

[skylucy]

9. OMG---You nailed it with this post about how your mom feels. I totally relate! You say your mom

"sounded a bit wounded".Those are my feelings when I hear young women be dismissive of Hillary or say she is "just part of the privileged establishment". Women my age have watched Hillary break down barriers for us so that young women today have it so much better than we did. We ARE saddened when we hear that young people aren't excited by her. They do not know her history at all. I want to just reach out and hug your mom (and you too!) and say YES! HILLARY 2016!

[DawgHouse]

10. I think she meant Hillary sounded a bit wounded.

It's got to be hard for her to hear all this crap coming from the mouths of young women who have been fed a line of bull for the past 20 years.

[skylucy]

11. You're right. I needed to re-read that! My emotions trumped my comprehension skills. But it

does bother me that some young women don't know who fought hard for women's rights. (Hmmm...When I typed the word "Trumped" I got little sick to my stomach. A perfectly innocent word has had its reputation ruined. )

[DawgHouse]

12. I agree with you 100 percent.

[DemonGoddess]

13. This is something

that every young woman should know about. It's a shame how many take for granted what has been fought so hard for, over so many years. I have to wonder how many of them realize that women haven only been able to vote in this country for 96 years.